Ht: 6-3 Wt: 238

DOB: August 10, 1958 In: Akron, Ohio

Childhood Heroes: “Muhammad Ali was a favorite of mine, of course. Martin Luther King was also a very strong role model. He showed no fear.”

Favorite Movies: “The Great Gatsby. That’s the one that sticks out in my mind. I felt it was such a great movie, the whole thing, the suffering he went through. It’s similar to my life, the highs and lows.”

First Car: “1974 yellow Ford Pinto.”

First Job: “Picking up and delivering lunch for workers at a construction site during summer (age 8). I also had jobs of hauling bricks. Then I was a busboy at Holiday Inn when I was 13.”

Favorite TV Shows Of All-Time: “Game shows. I’m a game show fanatic. Cosby. Wild Wild West. Rat Patrol.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “When I won the Heavyweight championship (KO 1 Mike Weaver in Las Vegas in December 1982). My greatest sports moment ever. The second-fastest KO in heavyweight history (63 seconds). I’m still in the record books for that.”

Most Painful Moment: “Losing the title (by KO 10 to Gerrie Coetzee in second title defense).”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Australia. No doubt about that. The beaches, the wine country, the reefs. I’m just so enchanted by Australia. Almost the same land mass as America but only 12 million people. Lots of undeveloped land. I love the place.”

Pre-Fight Meal: “Fish, pasta, some type of vegetables, water, maybe hot tea.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Grits.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate and vanilla.”

All-Time Favorite Fights: “Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Tony Zale, Jake Lamotta, all of his fights were so great. Each fight was a different plateau for him. He was so versatile. He could adapt to so many different styles. The best boxer I ever saw.”

Nicknames: “Thor. Baromus – my cousins used to call me that when I was a kid. I had no idea what they were talking about. (Also Michael went by the popular ring name – Dynamite.)”

Favorite Book: “Eastern Star. Muhammad Ali gave it to me when I was 17. That is probably one of the most knowledgeable books that I’ve read. It gave me insight on life. Ali took me under his wing. He taught me more about life than boxing.”

Musical Tastes: “Jazz, George Howard, James Ingram, Ronnie Laws, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, so many that I like. I could go on for days [smiles].”

Early Boxing Memory: “I had one win and two losses when I first started to box when I was 11 [smiles]. My friend Randy McGrady started with me, he used to tease me about that. He used to call me ‘One and two.’ He made me work harder, train harder. Then I went like 50 fights without a loss. I owe a lot to him.”

Favorite Sport Outside Boxing: “Basketball. So fast, so many dimensions to it. You need a great center, a great guard, forward, great depth, a great rebounder. And you need to have great offense and defense.”

People Most Admired: “Jesus Christ. Martin Luther King. Don King. Cricket Miller – she’s a little girl that’s paraplegic that I know. Here’s a person that is confined to a wheelchair for life and she has so much energy, vibrance, vigor. Every now and then when I talk to her, she’s depressed. But she always wants to do things. I just admire her so much for her strength. My mom.”

Future Ambition: “To get the most coveted prize in sports – the Heavyweight championship of the world. Say a prayer for me and I’ll do the rest.”

(Note: This interview was conducted at Madison Square Garden in 1992 after Michael’s KO 3 win over Danny Sutton in the Paramount Theater.)

Status: Head coach of the Syracuse University basketball team. You can wager online betting on NCAA basketball action at click here

Ht: 6-4 Wt: 205

DOB: Nov. 17, 1944 In: Lyons, N.Y.

Childhood Heroes: “Jack Nicklaus, Henry Aaron, Jim Brown, Ernie Davis.”

Hobbies/Interests: “Golf.”

Nickname: “Bobo. P.J. Carlesimo calls me that one. I don’t know why.”

Early Basketball Memory: “The high school coach (Dick Blackwell) used to take all of us sixth graders to have a practice for five hours on Saturday mornings. He wanted to have a good team. We lost four games in six years. We had a good group, we knew each other well.”

First Car: “1958 cream-colored Ford Thunderbird convertible. With red seats. I rode it into the ground. We used to go to practice with 12 guys in it.”

Favorite Movies: “Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, westerns.”

All-Time Favorite TV Shows: “Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law.”

Musical Tastes: “Bruce Springsteen. I saw him in concert in Syracuse. I liked him. He’s got tremendous energy. He’s a great performer.”

Favorite Meal: “Veal, fish.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “I don’t eat breakfast.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “Not too much. Just try to get relaxed. Get ready. Think of some of the little things we’re gonna try to do. Try not to get too uptight over it. What is this? Some kind of offbeat psychological profile [smiles].”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Well, you know, if you win the National Championship, that’s the only thing. There’s nothing that can top that (defeated Kansas 81-78 in New Orleans in 2003).”

Most Painful Moments: “Oh, I think in ‘87 when we lost to Indiana. We had a good chance to win the game and it just slipped away at the end. So those are always … when you lose the National Championship, that’s pretty painful [laughs].”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Oh, I don’t know. There’s a lot. Everybody’s fierce. There’s a million, they’re all very fierce. Off the top of my head … Chris Mullin of St John’s. He just wouldn’t let us beat them. He was that kind of player. Patrick Ewing. Gerry McNamara.”

Funniest Person I’ve Encountered in College Hoops: “Abe Lemmons.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Bermuda.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Jack Nicklaus. Tiger Woods. Wayne Gretzky. Michael Jordan. Steffi Graf. Deion Sanders. Derek Jeter. Emmitt Smith. Jerry Rice. Muhammad Ali — my favorite boxer of all-time. Sugar Ray Robinson — the best fights I ever saw were Robinson with Carmen Basilio, ‘The Onion Farmer’ from Canastota, N.Y., home of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “People who really dedicate their lives to helping other people and charitable causes. There are people who do that without asking for or receiving anything. Those are the people you have to admire.”

Future Ambition: “I’d like to play on the Senior Golf Tour, but I know I’m not good enough [smiles].”

Status at the time: Seattle Mariners shortstop.

Ht: 6-3 Wt: 195 (now he’s 230)

DOB: July 27, 1975 In: New York, NY

Childhood Heroes: “Cal Ripken. Ozzie Smith – just like magic. Dale Murphy.”

Nicknames: “Big Dog, Junior Jr.”

Early Baseball Memory: “I gave up baseball in eighth grade. Thought I was better at basketball and football. I’m glad I came back…Winning the Pony League championship in San Francisco for the Miami team (age 11). (How did you do?) I did all right. I wasn’t a big part of the team hitting-wise but I was a good defensive player. I really enjoyed it. That was awesome. For three months we traveled all over the U.S. And we finally made it to the pinnacle. And we won.”

Hobbies/Interests: “Weightlifting, fishing, golf, play basketball.”

Favorite Movies: “Scarface, Goodfellas.”

Favorite TV Shows: “Silver Spoons. Ricky Schroeder. I liked him. Kind of funny. How I grew up a little bit, without the money. I liked his family. And Martin.”

First Job: “Summer camp with Rich Hoffman Baseball School (age 15).”

First Car: “1972 four-door Chrysler (white). Old, Lincoln type. Gave me character [laughs].”

Favorite Meal: “Chicken, fettuccine alfredo, with fruit punch.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Lucky Charms.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate chip.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “Nervous and excited at the same time. (Visualize?) I visualize all the time – going 4-for-4, making nice plays and all that. Doesn’t always go that way [smiles].”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Being invited to the All-Star Game (‘96). Stepping on the field, my first at-bat.”

Most Painful Moment: “Being demoted five times to the minor leagues (in ‘95). A real hard time…crying, hard times, felt terrible.”

Closest Baseball Friends: “I have four of them, is that all right? (Of course.) Derek Jeter, Alex Gonzalez, Jeffrey Hammonds and Jose Canseco.”

Funniest Player Encountered: “Ken Griffey Jr.. He’s always got something funny to say, always cracking on someone.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Chipper Jones. He played against us one year in the Florida State finals with a broken hand. And he pitched real well, something like a two-hitter. Alex Fernandez. Roberto Alomar. Jay Buhner. Randy Johnson.”

Interesting Fact: “How I take as much pride as being a good person off the field as on the field. Meaning…I don’t revolve my whole life around baseball.”

Last Halloween Costume: “Batman.”

Favorite Vacation Spot(s): “Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, California, New York.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Michael Jordan. Dan Marino. Ken Griffey Jr. Barry Bonds. Chris Evert. Fred Couples – I got the chance to meet him at the Buick Open when we were in Detroit. Gabriela Sabatini. Anfernee Hardaway. Sugar Ray Leonard. Isiah Thomas.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “I like honesty. And I like considerate people.”

This is my first interview with Derek Jeter who at the time was playing AAA with the Columbus Clippers in 1994. We did this by phone…

Ht: 6-3 Wt: 180

DOB: June 26, 1974 In: Pequannock, NJ

Childhood Heroes: “Dave Winfield, Barry Larkin – shortstop, went to Michigan, always been a big fan of his.”

Nickname: “Jete.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Jalen Rose, Joe Montana, Tyrone Wheatley, Winfield, Larkin, Jennifer Capriati.”

Early Baseball Memory: “Playing for my dad (Charles) when he was coach. He was pretty lenient. When you’re growing up everyone wants to play for your dad. I played shortstop and second base (age 10-11).”

First Job: “Mowing lawns in Kalamazoo, Michigan (age 15).”

First Car: “1981 gray Datsun 310.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Sleep, watch movies, I don’t have too many hobbies.”

Childhood Dream: “Always wanted to be a baseball player. My dad played in college. I always wanted to play for the Yankees.”

Favorite Movie: “Major League.”

Favorite TV Shows: “Martin, Incredible Hulk.”

Musical Tastes: “Mariah Carey, Christopher Williams, R&B.”

Best Book Read: “Fab Five. It’s about some young people going to Michigan. Really interesting.”

Favorite Meal: “Spaghetti, meatball, and a Coke.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Frosted Flakes.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Being drafted. Getting the phone call at my house in Kalamazoo, right around noon. I was with my family. Felt happy. Relieved that it was over. Happy it was the Yankees, they were always my favorite team. We went out to eat.”

Little Known Fact: “I love to sleep. I don’t know if its little known. It keeps you out of trouble. I get a good 12 (hours) in every day. Sometimes all at once, sometimes I mix it up.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “Have fun. Try not to think about it too much. I usually just watch TV or listen to music.”

Toughest Competitor Encountered: “Mariano Rivera. Pretty confident, doesn’t back down to anyone.”

People Most Admired: “Drug and alcohol abuse counselors. Social workers. My dad does that. Pretty tough job – trying to help out other people. Worrying about yourself is hard enough.”

Memorable High School Achievement: “Named Player of the Year – USA Today in ‘92.”

Future Ambitions: “Play in the Major Leagues. Be the best I can. Win championships. And finish school (Michigan).”

—————-

Then we updated his Biofile several times over the years at Yankee Stadium…

Favorite Movies: “Seven – I’m a big Samuel L. Jackson and Morgan Freeman fan. Scarface and Gladiator. Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts movies.”

Musical Tastes: “R&B, hip-hop, Black Rob, 50 Cent In The Club, Jay-Z, Jodeci.”

Favorite TV Show: “SportsCenter.”

Favorite Meal: “Chicken parmigian.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the World Series, the very last out. I wanted to push Charlie (Hayes) who caught the last out [smiles] out of the way. A dream come true. I don’t know if I can describe it. It depends on what your dream is. My dream was always to win a World Series. So it was a dream come true. The celebration was great. I celebrated for a month [laughs].”

Most Painful Moment: “Getting sent down in ‘95. Got called up in the middle of the season for a couple of weeks. Getting sent down was the worst. I was in Columbus for most of the season till September.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “I just go out and play to be honest with you. I don’t sit around and think too much.”

Funny Baseball Memory: “To me it’s all funny. I have a good time in the locker room. I’m laughing the whole game. I don’t know if its too funny. It wasn’t too funny at the time. When I was in rookie ball, I hit .202. Terrible year, started off like 0-for-20-something with 14 strikeouts. Then I went back to my locker after one game and, do you remember those big red wiffle bats? They had it hanging from my locker, like, Maybe you should try using this. It wasn’t too funny at the time but now I look at it, it was funny.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Roger Clemens.”

Closest Baseball Friends: “Alex Rodriguez. Gerald Williams – he was like a big brother for me. Tino. Sojo. Tim Raines – one of the best teammates I ever had.”

Funniest Player: “Tim Raines, by far. Oh man, you’ve just got to be around him. Everything’s a joke with him. He laughs non-stop all day long. He’s great for the team.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Jordan. Barkley. Dave Winfield. Barry Larkin. Alex Rodriguez – I’m good friends with him so I like watching him. Peyton Manning. Michael Vick. Pete Sampras – he seems like he’s quiet and then he goes out and just wins. That’s what he does. Doesn’t talk too much or anything like that. Just goes about his business. Seems like he has no reason to talk about it, just go out and show them. I like that. I enjoy watching tennis. I like Serena. Tiger Woods. Larry Holmes. I was a Larry Holmes fan. Roy Jones – I’m his biggest fan. The Michael Jordan of boxing – the best.”

Early Baseball Memory: “My mom used to pitch wiffle balls to me in our backyard before my high school games. We lived right next to the high school.”

Major League Debut: “My first game was in Seattle (‘95). I went to Seattle, my dad came, my mom couldn’t because my sister had a softball game. I never played in a dome before, I went 0-for-5.”

Favorite Sport To Watch: “Basketball.” To Play: “Basketball.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Puerto Rico.”

DOB: July 2, 1937 In: Randleman, NC

Childhood Heroes: “If I had any, it’d have been my dad (Lee). You gotta figure, we grew up in the 40s and there was no TV, no radio, you didn’t read newspapers. You didn’t even know there was an outside world out there. Growing up in rural North Carolina, you didn’t know about Mickey Mantle or a Babe Ruth or none of that kind of stuff. You learned that after you got a little bit older.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “You know, back when we were growing up, I was big on whittling. I used to like to make model planes and stuff like that. I used to like to take a block of wood and make a car or an animal out of it. Again, we didn’t have nothing to do, so that’s what we did.”

Favorite Movies: “We didn’t go to the movies back then [laughs]! I was before the movies. The first movie I’d ever seen was Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs when I was in fifth grade. When that movie came out, they took classes from school downtown to the movie theater. First time I’d ever been to a movie. I liked Dr. Zhivago because I liked the theme song. And John Wayne movies.”

Musical Tastes: “Country music, that’s all we listened to back then. That’s all we listen to now. Hank Williams. Alabama.”

Favorite TV Shows: “I watch a lot of the History Channel.”

First Job: “Probably sweeping floors at the shop. Really, when I was growing up, my uncles were in the tobacco business. But as far as having a job, working in the tobacco field, hoein’ the tobacco, suckin’ it, gettin’ out the worms. And then primin’ it and puttin’ it in the barns. That was the first time anybody ever gave me any money for doing anything.”

Early Racing Memory: “I have a memory of the first Winston Cup race – in Charlotte in 1949. We drove the car over to the race track. Then we crashed the thing. Then we had to ride home with my uncle to get home.”

Favorite Meal: “Pinto beans and onions, cornbread and a big glass of milk.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Butter pecan.”

Funny Racing Memory: “[Laughs]…probably these questions you’re asking me [laughs]. I don’t know about that.”

Pre-Race Feeling: “Just another deal to do. As far as adrenaline flow or any of that stuff, if they’re gonna have a race that’s gonna start at 1 o’clock, and as long as I get in the car, we’re okay. Some of the bigger races, like Daytona, being down there for two to three weeks, we’d say: This is what we’re running, these are the people that we gotta run against, how we gonna beat them? But the majority of the races, you just got in the car and whatever was in front of you, you made reflexes and thoughts off of that.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “[Laughs] That’s a good one…Probably winning the 200th win (1984). I can still remember that one. A lot of the other ones I can’t. The biggest deal in my life – besides getting married and having kids – was the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That was a high, high honor. And I was one of the very few people in the United States to get that.”

Most Painful Moment: “[Laughs]…well, some of them was wrecks. They’re always painful. I’ve been in a lot of hard crashes. Some of the deals when you lost races on the last lap and stuff like that, they were pretty painful, too. But you overcome them. Probably just getting hurt maybe. Maybe here at Pocono, probably I got hurt as bad as I did anywhere…broken neck. And that bothered me for a couple weeks. That was pretty painful.”

Favorite Vacation Spot: “Alpine, Wyoming. We got a place out there. That’s my favorite place. Because it’s so laid back. It’s sort of like going to Las Vegas, they don’t use clocks [laughs]. I mean, sun comes up, sun goes down, everybody’s laid back. There’s not a lot of people – 200,000 in the whole state. The deal is that people don’t bother Richard Petty there. I can go to town, they throw their hand up, like I’m a neighbor. That’s what part of the allure is. It’s my getaway.”

Closest Racing Friends: “I don’t know that I had any real close. In fact I know I never had any close friends who were racers. Hopefully, we got along, we got along with everybody. That was probably good enough.”

Toughest Competitors: “Pearson, Allison, Yarborough – the crowd that I came though with, they were real, real fierce.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Well, Kyle Petty was my favorite. Michael Jordan. NFL football. I’m a fan of the Washington Redskins. My grandson likes the Green Bay Packers. And we take them up to Green Bay for one game every year. Kind of like a Christmas present. We got to meet Brett Favre.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Common sense, period. That’ll take care of everything else.”

DOB: October 4, 1944 In: Tampa, FL

Childhood Heroes: “Al Lopez, Mickey Mantle.”

First Job: “Delivering milk with my dad (Tony) when I was 14.”

Childhood Dreams: “It was baseball. I was reared in a baseball-type household. It was to be involved in the Major Leagues as a player. I didn’t achieve that because I was a terrible player (career MLB batting average of .199 in 132 games in 16 professional seasons). But I’ve been fortunate to be involved in Major League Baseball for over 35 years.”

Favorite Movie: “Kelly’s Heroes.”

Musical Tastes: “Rock groups, Styx, Journey, rock singers but mostly rock groups.”

Pre-Game Feeling: “Same every year. A lot of anxiety, nervousness. And if you don’t feel that, you’re not ready, you’re not interested.”

Favorite Meal: “Pasta, marinara.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Try not to eat it.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “1989 and 2006 World Championships. Everybody dreams of being a world champion. And three All-Star wins as a manager (1989-1991). I got a tremendous kick out of all of them. They were all two-run wins. I really love the All-Star scene.”

Most Painful Moment: “The Gibson home run (in game one of the 1988 World Series A’s vs. Dodgers). Because hindsight showed we ended up losing that World Series in five games. That first game was pivotal. We had to face Orel Hershiser the next night. I knew it was a tough loss. It’s only one but usually in a short series, one of your goals is to take a win from their closer. Not to give one up. You watch…often when that happens, usually you don’t recover.”

Toughest Competitor Encountered: “Good question. The problem talking about it is, if I make a list, I can forget some guys who really deserve to be on that list. So I don’t know if I really want to get into that. Off the top of my head – Don Baylor is one.”

Funny Baseball Memory: “When the season starts early on April 1st. The guys get a kick out of it when somebody who’s gonna make the club…and packing their bag and telling him to come see the manager. And to see the dejection, the heartbreak. It’s how far you want to follow through on it. Sometimes they wait until the team bus is leaving and then someone says, ‘Ah, let’s forget it.’ That always gets them. The guys enjoy that [smiles].”

Career Accomplishments: Major League manager from 1979 to present with Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s and currently St. Louis Cardinals; His teams have won five pennants and two World Series championships; First manager to win multiple pennants in both Leagues; One of only two managers to win World Series in both Leagues; Third on the list of all-time managerial wins (trails Connie Mack and John McGraw); As a player he played with Kansas City A’s, Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves in the 1960’s and 70’s.

Ht: 6-2 Wt: 210

DOB: March 26, 1960 In: San Diego, CA

Childhood Heroes: “Muhammad Ali. (Meet him?) First time I met him he was at San Diego State, he was doing some pre-fight publicity there. I had an opportunity to meet him there. I think I was maybe 10-11 years old. Just shook his hand.”

Nicknames: “None I can really think of right now.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “I’m a big golfer. I love golf. Love chess. Very few people play chess. Played tennis a long time ago, don’t play any more.”

Favorite Movies: “Oh gosh man, there’s a lot of them. Hard to pin down. I’d have to say sports films – let’s say Hoosiers. Brian’s Song. Field Of Dreams I really liked a lot. I’m sure I’m missing some.”

Musical Tastes: “I’m not into [laughs]. I’m into all music. I have an appreciation for all music.”

Favorite Meal: “Breakfast. I love pancakes, man [laughs]. Pineapple upside down pancakes. You gotta go in Hawaii to get ‘em.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Granola.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chunky Monkey, man [smiles].”

Early Football Memory: “Ten years old, played Pop Warner football. I was a defensive back. And they never challenged me [smiles]. They’d run my way a few times in a game, then they figured out that wasn’t a good thing to do, so.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “That’s kind of hard to say. I’ve had so many of them. I guess really just playing my final game. For me, personally, a culmination of a long dream of playing in the NFL. And excelling at it, the level I wanted to. Because it was my last game of my professional career. That’s what I had set out to do as a kid. Just a great moment because I realized everything that I wanted to do. And that day was a special day because I was no longer gonna do what I wanted to do.”

Most Painful Moment: “Really didn’t have any. No painful moments. There’s no such thing as pain and failure in my world. By virtue of trying to succeed. And so every time I went out there, I succeeded, where most people were afraid to attempt to do. The journey, beginning and end, was great. Even what people consider painful moments with the Raiders and so forth. It was all a wonderful journey. Great experience. Learned a lot. Benefited from all those things. So there’s no pain whatsoever. It’s all perspective.”

Closest NFL Friends: “I’ve got a lot. Ronnie Lott is probably my best friend.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “It’s always yourself, man. It’s the one challenge. It’s really never the guys that you face. It’s about you. It’s about you excelling every single day. Crossing that line that you haven’t crossed before. Biggest challenge is self. Never the opponent. All due respect to all the players that I played against. It was me.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “I like to watch all the running backs. I have a lot of favorite players. I’m a fan of all the guys that are playing. I don’t choose one particular team. I have friends who play for all teams so I just sort of pull for the individual rather than the team. I’m a big tennis fan. I like all of them.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Intellect. Courage. My two biggest qualities I admire most in people.”

Career Accomplishments: Super Bowl MVP 1983; Super Bowl Champion with Raiders in 1983; 1981 Heisman Trophy winner at USC; Six Pro Bowl appearances; Rushed for 12,243 yards, caught 587 passes and scored 145 touchdowns; inducted to NFL Hall of Fame in 2003.

Ht: 6-1  Wt: 195

DOB: August 9, 1967  In: Fort Myers, FL

Nicknames:  Prime Time, Prime, Neon Deion.

Childhood Heroes:  ”Had four of ‘em – Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, O.J. Simpson and Julius Erving.”

Childhood Dream:  ”To be successful. And take care of my family. I knew I was going to be a success no matter what.”

Favorite Movies:  ”The Five Hearbeats, The Mack – Black history.”

Musical Tastes:  ”Rap, R&B, Marvin Gaye.”

Favorite Meal:  ”Fried lobster, my wife’s baked beans, with sweet iced tea.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Butter pecan.”

First Car:  ”1974 red Toyota Celica. Had it in ‘82 when I was 16.”

First Job:  ”Hustler. Just hustlin’.”

Pre-Game Feeling:  ”Tired. Relaxed. Just think about the game. Think about playing great, having a great time. Helping my team win. Out there (on the field) – deeply focused and intense. I feel invincible.”

Early Football Memory:  ”I always wanted to make sure my parents (Mims, Connie) didn’t have to work again for the rest of their lives.”

Hobbies/Interests:  ”Fishing. Fishing’s relaxing, man. Most relaxing thing in my life. It’s therapy for me. I don’t think about business, sports. All I think about is catching the next fish. Collecting comic book superhero capes.”

Greatest Sports Moment:  ”Being able to earn enough money to not have to have my mom work again for the rest of her life.”

Most Painful Moment:  ”Any time I lose.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch:  ”Shaquille O’Neal. Magic Johnson. Mike Tyson – he’s a winner, the best. His desire for success can’t be faded. Rickey Henderson. Andre Agassi – he’s exciting. Gabriela Sabatini. Payne Stewart.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal:  ”Honey Frosted Wheaties.”

Interesting Fact:  ”I’m a businessman first.”

People Qualities Most Admired:  ”Magic Johnson. The person I admire most. He’s a great athlete. And a businessman. Very charismatic, very caring. He’s a people’s person.”

Career Accomplishments:  NFL cornerback, wide receiver, kick and punt returner from 1989-2005 with Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens; Eight-time Pro Bowl selection; Two-time Super Bowl champ (With SF and Dallas); Won Jim Thrope Award in 1988; Two-time NFC Defensive Player of the Year; Totaled 53 career NFL interceptions (1,331 INT return yards) and 22 NFL touchdowns; MLB outfielder from 1989-2001 with New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants; .263 career MLB batting average.

(Note: This Biofile was done at Shea Stadium in 1995 while Sanders was a member of the San Francisco Giants.)

DOB: Feb. 7. 1955  In: San Antonio, Texas

Childhood Heroes:  ”I had three or four – Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Joe Namath and Muhammad Ali. And Jimmy Brown.”

Hobbies/Interests:  ”I guess my wife likes to say I’m the most narrow person she’s ever met because sports dominated my life since I was five or six. At one point I collected coins but my brother went in and took all the quarters, dimes and nickels out and spent it. So I guess I learned from there, hobbies didn’t pay [smiles].”

Favorite Movies:  ”That’s tough. A friend of mine did Field Of Dreams – which I loved. I obviously loved The Godfather I, II. I enjoyed Miracle a lot. And 61 I thought was pretty good.”

Musical Tastes:  ”I was more of a middle of the road rock afficianado. The Beatles. A little bit of The Rolling Stones. Today I leave me musical tastes to background music in the films that we make in the documentaries [laughs]. And I leave my kids to zero in on all the stations that I have to listen to in the car.”

Favorite TV Shows:  ”You mean all the way up through my life? Seinfeld. I remember getting back every Friday night at 7:30 as a kid for The Flinstones. The Jetsons – which I thought was the most creative animated series ever made. And today I have to say most of what we do on HBO.”

Early Boxing Memory:  ”Well, my earliest boxing memory was…I can remember where I was when Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston in Miami (1964). I was playing a little par-3 golf course in Westchester county New York when word came that Ali won. In those days I didn’t go to closed-circuit telecasts because I was so young. I was only nine. But I do remember that. I think my other vivid memory is I remember walking the campus of Brown University, listening to the ticker tape call of Ali-Foreman in Zaire, when my classmate was doing the actual call from the AP story. And that classmate of mine was Chris Berman. He was doing a round-by-round analysis of what happened on the campus radio station (WBRU).”

Greatest Career Moment:  ”I would say I have three. Hagler-Hearns. The feeling as if we’d all gone seven minutes and 42 seconds and stood in the middle of the ring with them. It was so exhausting. And such a spectacular three rounds of boxing. The other was obviously Tokyo when  Mike Tyson went down from the uppercut and right hand from Buster Douglas. One of the most stunning moments in boxing and in sports history.”

Most Painful Moment:  ”Watching Roy Jones get knocked out cold and lay on the canvas (vs. Glen Johnson). It was a very depressing moment for all of us who have lived through his entire career. Thankfully we didn’t do Leonard-Norris and we didn’t do Ali-Holmes. But there’s something about the sport where it’s finally over and they take brutal beatings. And when they have as much talent as Roy Jones did. It’s very painful to watch and sad to see. So that was tough.”

Favorite Meal:  ”Would probably be Double Z barbecue in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:  ’My son has me hooked on mint chocolate chip.”

Favorite Boxers To Watch:  ”I love to watch Oscar De La Hoya. I’m infatuated with Floyd Mayweather’s abilities. I enjoyed Roy Jones immensely and think that – I’ve seen a lot of great talent, going back – Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, the great Ali – but I’ve rarely seen the quickness, speed and brilliance that I did when i watched Roy Jones in his prime.”

Favorite Fights:  ”Hagler-Hearns. Leonard-Hearns I. All three of the Ward-Gatti fights. Holyfield-Bowe I, II. Pintor-Gomez – I’ll give you some real bizarre ones [laughs]. Arguello-Pryor. Hagler-Leonard – for it’s spectacle.”

Funny Boxing Memory:  ”Well, looking back on it, 45 minutes to air in Tokyo, before the greatest upset in boxing history – we had a transformer catch fire. And we were in total blackness in the television truck area, not knowing whether we would get on the air. And so, looking back, it’s very, very funny. At the time it was harrowing, and we were not laughing. We were crying and yelling. (So we almost missed that fight?) You, all in the U.S., almost missed Tyson-Douglas. (How did you guys save it?) A gentleman, who has since passed away, George Wensel, feverishly worked the transformer and bypassed the transformer and got us an alternative source of energy. And we slowly but surely came back up and got on the air with half of our equipment, at the time. Within about 15 minutes, we had our full complement of cameras and equipment.”

Childhood Dream:  ”(What you wanted to become?) Roone Arledge (former innovative head of ABC Sports). And I think I’m getting there [laughs].”

Favorite Vacation Spot:  ”Steamboat Springs, Colorado.”

People Qualities Most Admired:  ”Honesty, integrity, passion, caring, humanity.”

Education:  Brown University (Political Science).

Career Accomplishments:  Created the popular 24-7 documentary series in 2007; Winner of 85 major sports TV awards including 5q Sports Emmys and eight George F. Peabody Awards for his work with boxing, documentaries, specials and magazine shows, HBO President for 11 years, originally joined HBO in 1978 as an assistant to the producer.

(Note: This Biofile was done in 2003 in New York City.)

Ht: 6-5 Wt: 241

DOB: March 25, 1976 In: Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan (is of Ukrainian descent)

Childhood Heroes: “I had very many heroes. Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Muhammad Ali, my brother (Vitali). All the best boxers, so many people.”

Nickname: Dr. Steelhammer.

Hobbies/Interests: “Kite surfing is my passion. Computer, surfing the Internet. I like to wakeboard, snowboard … it’s so fun. I have a helicopter pilot’s license. Play soccer and golf. Work with UNESCO program ‘Education for Children In Need.’”

Childhood Dream: “I dreamed about everything as a boy … military man, doctor, spaceman. But not boxing.”

Early Boxing Memory: “We drove away to a tournament in Kazakhstan (age 14). About 40 boxers were there. I wait for my first fight. I wait, wait. I wonder, what happened? Where’s my opponent? (Tournament official) says, ‘You win. You don’t have an opponent. Only you here in heavyweight division.’ My first championship and I don’t have an opponent [smiles]. After that, my first amateur fight, I lost (on points). And after my first fight, I win everything that I can.”

Favorite Meal: “I like desserts. Every kind of dessert [smiles]. I like good food … Italian, Chinese, Japanese, French.”

Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Not cereal but cottage cheese and strawberries.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”

Funny Boxing Memory: “In Germany, we have two round card girls per fight. Before one of my fights, one of the round card girls started talking to me … ‘I love you, I’m really a big fan.’ A beautiful girl. But she was a little bit too forward. And she said, ‘I will give you the keys to my house when I come into the ring between rounds.’ I thought she was joking. But I was scared she would really do it. But I scored a knockout in round one and I never saw her again [smiles].”

Pre-Fight Feeling: “Concentrating and calming down. Caaalm. I think about my fight. And the very many people looking at my fight. I’ve been waiting for this moment. And I know only one can leave the ring as the champion. And I want to be the champion.”

Favorite Boxers To Watch: “All boxers. From every boxer, one can take the best from him. Having the best style needs the best styles to learn from.”

Favorite Fights: “My brother and (Lennox) Lewis. Those classic fights from Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Also the fight Thomas Hearns with Sugar Ray Leonard. There is many exciting fights, it’s difficult to say. I think I will be wrong if I mention some of the fights and some I will forget.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Olympic Games (won gold medal in ’96 in Atlanta).”

Most Painful Moment: “My fight with Brewster (loss by TKO 5 in 2004).”

Favorite Movies: “Midnight Express. I like action movies … The Matrix. The Mummy. Titanic is not so bad.Rocky‘s really interesting. The Terminator. The Running Man.”

Musical Tastes: “Classical, Mozart, Beethoven, jazz, pop, Whitney Houston, Phil Collins, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tina Turner.”

Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Difficult question. A part of Ali, a part of Holyfield, a part of Tyson. (Formula 1 racer) Michael Schumacher. Roger Federer — I know him personally. He’s a very down-to-earth guy. I love to watch tennis. (Do you play tennis?) When I tried to play with friends I had no talent, no talent at all. Ping-pong is my sport [smiles].”

First Job: “I was a school teacher and I taught biology and physical culture. But I have too much work in boxing now.”

Embarrassing Boxing Memory: “Everything done in boxing life I don’t think it’s so embarrassing, it’s just getting experience and this experience you can not buy in the shop. You have to gain it with your own skin and your own body, with your own mind and through time. And that’s why it’s impossible to say that something was embarrassing. It’s just everything about different experiences which people are making and they have to learn from those experiences. And they have to get better.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “People who have good character, strong character. A will. And a wish.”